Trader Joe's Syrah Platinum Reserve Lot # 99

A nice balanced wine, varietal flavors. Nothing to be excited about, nothing to object. Like most TJ Grand Reserve, a value at $13

Very nice wine for the price. On day 1 I was unimpressed, as it tasted like a flabby Paso syrah fruit bomb without the concentration. On day 2 it developed some savory and garrigue-like notes, somehow more acid, leading to a more complex and balanced presentation.

Reasonable nose, not varietal. A spicy peppery light bodied wine w minimal tannins a d a high 14.9% alcohol adding fo the bite. A sharp red that I wouldn't guess was a pinot. The second night, not as sharp. It might age a few years

Friends tell me that Trader Joe’s has really good wine at nice prices. So I went and bought an assortment. This is the first that I’ve tried. Took from my 60 degree cooler (“drink now reds”) P&P. Loads of blueberry and blackberry. Some spice. If a wine maker in Cornas made a New World Style wine (no barnyard, no forest floor, no saddle leather) and used 20% new oak, it would be similar. Good mouth feel. Pleasant acid and tannins …

Oak bomb. Dumped it

Popped and poured, drank over two evenings, decanted glasses from the first night. Oak dominates. Pinot characteristics are muted and it lacks the acidity needed for balance making it a bit flabby. I have found some Trader Joe's Pinot Noir to be good values, for example the recent Santa Barbara county bottling. But this one is a definite miss.

Black fruit, savory / herbal core, good texture and intensity, reminds of a mid-range Cotes du Rhone at a similar price point.

I thought I’d give the TJ’s brand a try, as this wine was placed on a floor display AND for the SLH appellation. I’ve enjoyed several SLH Pinots, including Hahn’s 2021. However, I was disappointed in this wine from the first sip; tasted like a vanilla stick was in the bottle, not allowing the fruit to come through. Darker color and more body than a typical SLH Pinot. Maybe this is what they think mass, sub $15 wine consumers like. …